Ariana Grande kicked off her Eternal Sunshine Tour nearly two months ago — and boy, a lot has changed since.
She’s famously tweaked a key lyric in “Thank U, Next” (changing: “wrote some songs about Ricky/ now I listen and laugh” to: “wrote some songs about Ricky/ we always find our way back”) to reflect their alleged rekindled relationship; she released her eighth studio album, petal, adding songs from the project into her setlist; and, most recently, a rep announced Grande’s upcoming break from the public, including recasting her role in the West End revival of Sunday in the Park with George.
As a result of so much change, The Eternal Sunshine Tour has become this ever-evolving, real-time commentary on Grande’s life straight from the source. And at a time when so many have so much to say about her — with social media aflame over everything from her actions to her appearance — Grande did something refreshing. She commented on that, too.
On Sunday (Aug. 3), a representative for Grande shared with People: “Ariana will be taking a step back from visibility after she completes the Eternal Sunshine Tour. She looks forward to finishing the tour and ending it on a high note, both healthily and happily, and then taking a much-deserved break from public-facing work and appearances, which has led to endless, ongoing public scrutiny. This tour has been a beautiful experience for her. She loves her fans and has loved every minute of this tour so much.”
Grande confirmed the last bit herself, beginning Act II of her set with a near five-minute speech. “Is it okay if I talk to you guys for a little bit?” she asked instead of diving right into “eternal sunshine” as per usual. “First of all, I just want to say I love you so much and I’m so happy to be here with you. There’s nowhere else I’d rather be.”
Then, in a rare move for anyone let alone a pop star at her level, she shared thoughts she had typed down in direct response to the comments and headlines about her that had reached a boiling point over the last 24 hours. And yes, of course, some will surely find fault with what she shared — or didn’t. But the placement of this speech within the set was entirely intentional. Once she was down with what she had to say, she immediately created an echo chamber via pedal loop of her own voice repeating in harmony: “I don’t care what people say is true.”
And during her first Chicago show, that sentiment stayed top of mind; Grande very well may care what people say, but when it comes to the truth, she is the only one who can discern that for herself.
From her speech to the live debut of petal songs added to the setlist, read below for all that changed in Grande’s first show since the album — and the headlines — dropped last weekend.
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The Arianaverse Expanded
Unlike Ari’s first show of the tour that simply teased her new album, the pre-show screens during night one of her Chicago stretch frequently showed a QR code to purchase and/or download petal — which has become the latest addition to Grande’s always-expanding universe, with the same screens also advertising her r.e.m. beauty, Ariana Grande Fragrances and her latest Swarovski campaign. Another new addition? The promotion of her Brighter Days Ahead Foundation, which launched in June and in July partnered with Backline to provide mental health resources to her entire touring team and crew.
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The Response To This ‘Yes, And?’ Lyric
Like always, Ari opened the show with her Eternal Sunshine lead single, “Yes, And?” Only tonight, there seemed to be more ferocity in her gaze and more bite in her delivery. When she sang the line, “I’m so done with caring/ What you think, no, I won’t hide,” the crowd’s roars were especially loud, perhaps in support of the idea that Grande’s forthcoming break is anything but a means to hide, and rather a necessity in order for her to return.
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Her Speech Addressing the Headlines
“Is it okay if I talk to you guys for a while?” Grande asked after reappearing on stage for Act II (of five, plus an encore). Ahead of performing a live looped version of “eternal sunshine,” Ari took some time to speak directly to her fans and “clear the air” on recent headlines, particularly the one announcing her break following this tour.
“I just wanted to talk to you for a second, is that okay if we get a little real tonight? I wrote down my thoughts because I didn’t want to get nervous and forget. I just wanted to say, sometimes when a story comes out that’s not directly from me, things can get a little blown out of proportion. So I just wanted to speak to my fans directly tonight because I love you so much…[I wanted to let you know] how I’m feeling, and not let the world decide and project…So I’d like to just clear the air. I’ll keep it short, I promise.”
She continued: “So basically, the announcement that was made yesterday was not a reactive or impulsive thing. It was a plan that I quietly made a long time ago and it’s a decision that was made from a thoughtful and empowered place and I want you to know that many things can be true at the same time,” at which point, a fan screamed “f–k the haters,” to which Grande bashfully smirked.
“I heard that my fans were worried that ‘negativity was ruining things for me,’” she said with air quotes. “I just have to say, that could not be more the f–k opposite. This is not what that is, and I just want to be very very clear. Multiple things can be true at the same time: boundaries need to be set, human beings can need a break sometimes…and also, this can be and will continue to be the greatest experience of my professional career and life…So I just wanted to make that quite plain.”
“I have one more thing to say: no matter what noise is out there, nothing will ever be able to distort my reality or be more real to me than this love that we share. The rest of that s–t is not mine to carry, so I don’t carry it. I needed to get up here and differentiate that from my true [feelings] because this tour has been the most healing, beautiful, corrective, magnificent, special experience of my life – and so has putting out petal…It’s been extraordinary. I wish that words were enough to articulate just how much I love you all…Now we can keep going.”
And so she did.
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The Permanent ‘Petal’ Addition
During her July 28 show in Montreal, Ariana added “petal” to the setlist for the first time, giving her new album’s title track not only its live debut, but its world premiere. She kept it in the set for the following two Montreal shows, beginning her encore with it again on July 30 (followed by the world premiere and live debut of “like i do”) and on album release day, July 31 (followed by the premiere and live debut of “stay” and “oh well”).
When she once again started the encore for her first Chicago show with the title track, it became clear the song has found its permanent home on the Eternal Sunshine Tour setlist.
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Her ‘Big’ Live Debut
“I get to spend my album release week with you all,” Grande shared with gratitude while seated on a stool, preparing to perform “Hampstead.” She then teased, “we’ll do some songs from petal later” and continued to express appreciation for her fans, saying, “I never will be able to properly articulate what you all mean to me – and always have, for what? 15 years? Thank you for being by my side all the way from ‘Honeymoon Avenue’ to ‘Hampstead.’”
Later in the show, during the encore, Ari kept her word. Sticking with the format of her Montreal shows, after performing “petal,” she tossed in two more tracks from her new album — neither of which she had sung live yet. The first was “Big Feelings,” which Billboard ranked as the fourth best song on the album. For its live debut, the stage was drenched in red lighting, a nod to the passion imbued in the song.
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‘Never’ Enough New Songs
After “Big Feelings,” Grande live debuted a second petal track. As the stage lighting shifted from red to a warm golden-yellow, the band started to play “never get over me.” The song became the sixth one off her new album to get its live debut, leaving just six more to experience that special on-stage first. Given that Ari still has two Chicago dates left and 10 in London, it’s safe to say the entire album will be heard live, at least once, before the tour wraps on Sept. 1 — beginning what could be another long stretch before we hear them live again.